| A |
A type of graphic data that
has the shape of a character. |
Fonts are a form of
graphic data that records the shape of
characters.
A piece of graphic data is stored for each
character code.
Normally, fonts do not include any other
information.
The reason for having several different fonts is
to allow switching between typefaces such as
Mincho and Gothic.
Installing fonts that contain characters not
standard on that system only allows the display
of those characters through a special procedure;
features, such as search functions, will not work
correctly.
There are two major types of font.
One type is called bitmap fonts, and describes
characters as a collection of points.
The other type is outline fonts; this expresses
the shape of characters as the lines around its
edge.
Bitmap fonts are simple in construction, but when
magnified, they are blocky and difficult to read.
On the other hand, because outline fonts include
the surrounding edges of characters,
magnification does not alter the shape adversely.
For this reason, outline fonts are now the main
type used.
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| Bitmap font |
Outline font |
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